Studio Simpatico

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing and partnerships for a technical recruiting firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Studio Simpatico?

We were looking to establish a more cohesive branding, so we engaged with Studio Simpatico to help us do a brand refresh. We also wanted to make our website and marketing collateral consistent with our brand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we held a discovery call with Studio Simpatico, during which we defined the scope of the project as well as our key objectives and requirements. From there, they proceeded with the work, which involved a full rebuild of our website and the creation of various digital and print assets. The site was built with WordPress.

Their team has already completed the rebuild of our website last September, and we’re currently working with them on other projects.

What is the team composition?

We work with various people from their team, including Tamara (Owner), Mingwei (Project Manager), Bruce (Head of Design), and a couple of junior designers.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $50,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2022, and our engagement is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Now that our website looks terrific, we’ve started to receive inbound queries from potential clients. We’ve also gotten a ton of positive feedback about our new site from the people we met at a conference.

How did Studio Simpatico perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done an excellent job from a project management standpoint. They meet all deadlines; any delays are usually caused by our side. They use Basecamp to manage tasks.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Studio Simpatico’s time management skills and ability to meet deadlines distinguishes them from other providers. We’ve experienced a lot of delays with most of the companies that we have worked with before. Moreover, their team is very proactive in terms of asking questions and guiding our conversations. They’re also able to break down technical concepts in layperson terms — this really helps us make concrete decisions faster.

Are there any areas they could improve on?

I don’t have any constructive feedback for them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing of Grasshopper Bank, a B2B digital banking company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Studio Simpatico?

We were about to relaunch our company, so we needed rebranding and website development services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Studio Simpatico has been helping us with WordPress web design and development from scratch. In addition, they’ve been helping us with branding, which was the first step of the process and included developing our brand’s design story.

Currently, they provide ongoing maintenance and other collateral design services for social media and our app’s UI/UX using InVision and Figma.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with Tamara (Owner), web designers, and a development team.

How did you come to work with Studio Simpatico?

We found them through an online search, and after looking at their past work, we decided to reach out to them.

How much money have you invested in this partnership?

So far, we’ve spent around $75,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We’re very happy with their work, which has positively impacted our company by helping us expand exponentially in the last year.

How did Studio Simpatico perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is one of their strengths; they always stay within budget, have never missed a deadline, and are communicative throughout the process. Regarding tools, we use Basecamp, Slack, Google Meet, and Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their transparent and communicative team is their best attribute. They’re great partners to work with because they’re responsive and swift. In addition, their design resources are wonderful because they commit to getting exactly what we want.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — they’re our best business partners.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be honest and transparent with what you want. Vocalizing your needs and feedback will ensure a good outcome because Studio Simpatico is great at adapting its work to your needs.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a startup software company called SimplyPut based in San Francisco, CA. SimplyPut allows users to ask natural language questions about their internal company data.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Studio Simpatico?

We hired Studio Simpatico to design our external website pages (including marketing/splash, platform description, about, and blog) as well as our visual design (color scheme, logo, fonts, etc.).

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We looked at a few vendors but ultimately went with Studio Simpatico because they had done great work for other folks we know in the B2B software space.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We had a few kickoff meetings for the Studio Simpatico team to hear about what our company was building, what kind of feeling we wanted potential customers to have when they visited our website, and what we felt was important to come through to potential customers with branding. Those meetings led to

1. a skeleton of the external website pages, and
2. a visual design exercise.

From our feedback on both aspects, the Studio Simpatico team was able to craft our external website pages in high fidelity with illustrations, images, content, and graphics. We also received a basic style guide to apply to other parts of our product.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with 5 different people. One was the owner and general manager of Studio Simpatico, one was a project manager, and 3 were deisgners.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The team was able to take our ramblings about what we wanted our external website to reflect and to inform potential customers and turn those ramblings into a beautifully designed website.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had frequent updates about progress and timelines from the team. We were able to communicate very effectively through email and Basecamp. All our feedback and comments were promptly responded to and dealt with appropriately.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Everyone at the company is extremely helpful and pleasant to work with. I looked forward to all of our meetings as well as collaborating back and forth via email and Basecamp.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

My only nit is that there were a couple times when I wasn't sure when certain illustrations for the website were being produced. When I checked in with them though, it was all cleared up very promptly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Iron & Air Media. We're a culture publication and website dedicated to automotive & motorcycle enthusiasts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with the vendor?

We hired Studio Simpatico for a ground up redesign of ironandair.com. We had been operating off a Shopify platform for the previous 5 years, but content suffered. We needed a content-first web platform for us to showcase and grow our user base. We had dedicated a lot of time to dialing in our print magazine and wanted the site to be of equal stature to the premium quality of the publication, offering a wide variety of design options for how we showcase the content.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Studio Simpatico handled full stack web development for the site, and also developed a design language for the site based off our current brand design. 

What is the team composition? 

We worked exclusively with Tamara Olson, head of operations, Bruce Viemeister, head of design, Mingwei Ma, product manager, Angela Huang, designer & illustrator, Amber Weinberg, head of development, and Evan Thompson, senior developer.

How did you come to work with the vendor?

We interviewed several companies to determine the right partner for our needs. At the end of the day, it came down to two factors: confidence and value. Studio Simpatico came in at the right price point but they outshined every other vendor when it came to their investment in our brand. It was clear right from the beginning that they had done their homework and took the extra time to understand our beliefs so they could meet our needs. We knew they were the right team because of the deep level of care they showed for our product and it shows in the end result.

What is the status of this engagement?

The website launched in February of 2022, and we are currently engaged with Studio Simpatico on a retainer basis for ongoing dev support as needed. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The page views and time on site from our visitors is way up from our previous site, and without any targeted marketing, which shows that the content is clearly communicating better and is more engaging that it previously was. 

How did the vendor perform from a project management standpoint?

Three members of our team worked with Studio Simpatico for around four months developing the site. Since this was a ground-up build, there was a lot to do, but Simpatico made the process painless by scheduling all of the meetings and check-ins, creating a simple list of To-Do’s for our team within Basecamp, and staying on task and target during each phase. My least favorite thing to do is chase down vendors to check the status of a project. I never had to do this even once with Studio Simpatico. Their status updates were always clear, concise, and on time. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed by the genuine interest with our project and our company. Studio Simpatico always made us feel excited by each step (even the tedious ones) and they brought an infectious level of energy to each meeting. In every phase, they've demonstrated a level of confidence that makes us feel comfortable that we are in good hands. When we didn’t understand something (which was quite often), they always took the time to explain things and provide clear instructions so we never felt lost in any part of the site build. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

If they could bottle their confidence and energy, I’d buy it by the case.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Kurt Weill Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to the perpetuation and promotion of the legacies of composer Kurt Weill and singing actress Lotte Lenya.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Studio Simpatico?

We were looking for a full stack development firm to do a ground-up rebuild of our website. A central challenge of the project was the organization and presentation of extensive and widely varying content for a broad range of users.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We collected referrals from colleague organizations as well as consulting online reviews, including those on Clutch. A number of firms offered strong skills and a small few competitive prices as well. The deciding factor was Simpatico's willingness to be flexible and responsive from the start, and to go the extra mile in making sure the project was a success.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The staff of our organization had already developed an extensive outline of site content before the project began. Our work with Simpatico proceeded in multiple stages: Content Preparation, User Experience and Visual Identity Work, Sitemap and Wireframe Sketches, Site Coding, and Quality Assurance & Launch.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with six people in total; the CEO Tamara, two designers, and three coders.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The new elements and cleaner navigation of the site they designed and built for us have drawn many positive comments from our constituents.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

This is an area of stellar performance for Simpatico. I have never worked with a contracted firm on any project with as attentive, efficient, and enjoyable workflow.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

See above regarding workflow. I'd add the words collaboration, partnership, commitment, buy-in. Truly exceptional in all of these ways.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

One of our technical requirements was a challenge, but Simpatico didn't hesitate to engage additional expertise to build what needed to be built.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and executive director of AmpleHarvest.org, a one-of-a-kind hunger and food waste nonprofit. We work in 4,200 communities in all 50 states in the US. We educate and enable home and community gardeners to be able to donate their surplus harvest to one of our nearly 8,000 food pantries across the country.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Studio Simpatico?

When we launched AmpleHarvest.org in 2009, we launched with a website, which had been the center of our operations. Up until recently, we were still using that old platform.

That was a huge problem for us, since our entire existence revolved around a website created before people used mobile phones and tablets. It was also made using technology that has become outdated and almost impossible to maintain. Additionally, the old site failed to explain what AmpleHarvest.org is and how it’s distinct from other programs in the country. 

We needed help in rebuilding our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Studio Simpatico conducted a deep dive to our old website. After that, they proceeded to develop our new site. They used Sonic for the wireframes and collaborated closely with our team throughout the process.

They incorporated effective storytelling to our platform. One of our biggest problems was that people didn’t know what AmpleHarvest.org did or does. People mistake us for being a food bank or a gardening program. Studio Simpatico took the time to simplify our messaging so our site’s visitors can clearly and simply see what AmpleHarvest.org is all about.

We’ve been using Liquid Web as our hosting service, and we wanted to remain on it. Although Studio Simpatico was not familiar with Liquid Web, they learned it and built our new site around that.

We told Studio Simpatico that a significant portion of our users are senior citizens and gardeners who are always out on a sunny day in the garden. They designed the page layout, fonts, colors, and other elements with our audience in mind.

Studio Simpatico has already finished the website, and we recently launched it to the public. Going forward, we intend to keep them on a monthly retainer for ongoing maintenance and support.

What is the team composition?

I work primarily with Tamara (Owner & Head of Operations), and her team -  a mixed bag of specialists. Some of them are technically oriented, and others are artists and designers.

How did you come to work with Studio Simpatico?

We put together an extensive and indepth RFP. Studio Simpatico bid on it, and they won because they did a fantastic job fleshing out 95% of what was needed to be done.

Additionally, Studio Simpatico’s proposal matched our budget. Others vendors offered five times their offer, while others just didn’t get our project. I knew from day one that Studio Simpatico understood our goals and requirements.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $50,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2021, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

It’s too early to provide feedback. I’m expecting 1–2 months before our numbers go up. 

However, from a design and SEO perspective, the new site is significantly better than the old one. Previously, Google couldn’t find any of our food pantries — the pantries didn’t even have their own URL. On the new site, Google is indexing each of our 8,000 pantries’ URL. 

Our staff and stakeholders love our new website. In fact, the new site has given us the confidence to talk with a big-box retailer. We wouldn’t have been able to do that before; we would have seemed an unprofessional program. The new site presents us as someone a corporate partner would want to work with.  

How did Studio Simpatico perform from a project management standpoint?

We had weekly video meetings and occasional phone calls, with nearly everything "documented" through email and Basecamp.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed with Tamara — she’s a delight to work with. She has managed our expectations well and kept to the budget. Her whole team is also great, but Tamara is the kind of person you’ll want to be friends with. There’s pleasantness and professionalism about her. 

In addition, Tamara understands what AmpleHarvest.org is. She has understood who we are on day one, and that’s really important for me. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Studio Simpatico had a preference for emails and Basecamp but not telephone calls. I would’ve liked being able to call a bit more frequently. Additionally, because they were forced to work with our budget, there were minor things that didn’t get done. However, those were things our team could easily fix.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you know exactly what you want — put it down on paper and have it reviewed by other people. Ensure your RFP is as explicit as possible and contains both nitty-gritty details and big picture perspectives.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a venture capital firm and I am part of the investment team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Studio Simpatico, and what were your goals?

We wanted to create a new website that captured the identity and culture of our firm.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We spoke with 6-7 web design/development agencies before choosing to work with Simpatico. We were looking for a team that i.) had a track record of delivering great bespoke work, and ii.) did not outsource either design or development to a third party. There were few other agencies that met our criteria, but Simpatico really stood out in terms of communication and process management early on.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Scope included visual identity, storyboarding, wireframes, design mockups, full development, testing, and release. We used basecamp as our primary project management tool, invision for design review, and wordpress for hosting, admin work. We also had evolving needs in terms of overall timeline, and Simpatico was very engaged throughout the process to help us figure how to best move forward.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Roughly five team members from Simpatico. Tamara was responsible for the overall engagement. Sinan/Bruce were leading design efforts, Amber was the main person on development and testing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

New website came out really great. We initiated this project with high expectations and Simpatico delivered.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Top notch in terms of both communication and timeliness. I walked away thoroughly impressed with Simpatico's professional caliber. This is a lean and mean team.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Throughout the entire process, Simpatico felt like a strongly entrepreneurial team. Everyone was creative, resourceful, and overall committed to delivering very high quality work.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

I attribute this partially to the short timeline and tight deadlines, but overall QA process could have been managed better. While Simpatico conducted quality assurance post initial development, there was no dedicated QA person thoroughly testing finished and new elements as the website evolved into its final form. This resulted in a lot of time required from our end for testing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive advisor for SeeHer, a media and marketing coalition dedicated to accurately portray women and girls in marketing, advertising, media, and entertainment. Our mission is to help women see themselves as they truly are and in all their potential.

We represent marketers, media companies, and agency holding companies that have come together and have identified the elimination of gender bias in media and entertainment as a critical need. We have a gender equality metric, which is a proprietary tool that actually measures bias in advertising as well as media content.

We've also done research to prove that, by eliminating gender bias from your ads and the programming environment, they can actually drive sales.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Studio Simpatico?

Our website was outdated, unsophisticated, and wasn’t user-friendly. It didn’t represent who we were or what we were about. Consequentially, we couldn’t drive members to it. Studio Simpatico helped redesign and develop our website so it would be helpful for members and would elevate our brand.

We were in the midst of releasing a marketing essential tool kit. And we wanted to share that with our members.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They took the time to go through all of our assets, brand guidelines, and color palettes. From there, they came up with two design options. I liked pieces of one and pieces of the other. Then they melded the two and brought our mission to life. After solidifying the design, they developed the site on WordPress.

What is the team composition?

Tamara (Owner & Co-Founder) was my main point of contact and she brought in other people at different points in the project.

How did you come to work with Studio Simpatico?

The executive VP of our parent company found Studio Simpatico. We were interested in working with a woman-owned business and wanted a partner that shared a passion for our mission.

We had one meeting with the Studio Simpatico team and knew they were the right fit. They took on our mission with care and intent.

What is the status of this engagement?

They started working on the project in October 2020 and we launched in December.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We’ve received incredible feedback internally, but we also get compliments all the time from marketers, media companies, and agencies. I really love the floating frame they incorporated in the design and used throughout the website. It has a lot of meaning — it’s about reframing women in the media. Their design was intentional and it turned out beautifully.

On our old website, our members couldn’t access their own accounts. Now we have over 100 accounts.

Internally, we also use the website a lot — it’s already embedded into our workflow. We use it to upload and distribute assets.

How did Studio Simpatico perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very collaborative. I began having meetings with them regularly and they listened to our needs. By the end of the project, I felt like they were family. They were wonderful.

They trained me on Basecamp, which was amazing. It was so easy to communicate with them. They would reply in real-time, they were so accessible. We also used Google Docs and Google Meet.

They were so responsive to our team when we have a question. They were willing to make changes to the design later in the project when they were working on development.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were collaborative and delivered a thoughtful design. Everything they did, they did with intent. They clearly understood who we are and what our mission is. As a result, the creative aspect and the functionality of the website are superb.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Overall, it was such a positive experience. We never had a problem.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Share your company information with them upfront. They will pay attention to your story. When you do that, it expedited the backend. They will do the work to accurately reflect your company’s story.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a director at Montieth & Company. We’re a global communications consultancy that provides marketing, crisis, and litigation communications as well as PR, issue management, and public affairs services for B2B clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Studio Simpatico?

We needed a new website as ours was slow. It also didn't include a great sales trail. There wasn’t an obvious call to action or channel for people to contact us. The design was also confusing. We wanted a design agency to create a more sophisticated platform, particularly in terms of lead generation and SEO efforts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Studio Simpatico designed and developed a new WordPress website. Their team listened to our challenges and tried to understand our business. From there, they came up with a design and practical solutions to resolve our issues.

Their team brought us two design directions — both of which aligned with our business identity. They helped us to think through the different ways that people would use the designs — how they would work through our website and what they would click.

What is the team composition?

We communicated directly with Tamara (Owner) and Sinan (Creative Director). In total, about 3–4 people worked on this project.

How did you come to work with Studio Simpatico?

We found them through Google searches.

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost between $25,000–$30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Studio Simpatico in November 2019 and finished the project in June 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

They delivered beyond our expectations. Studio Simpatico was collaborative and creative, pushing us outside of our comfort zone.

Throughout the design process, they communicated what decisions needed to be made to my whole team including our CEO. Their team also told us what to take into consideration for the site's design, which was beneficial.

Studio Simpatico patiently explained the rationale behind the design to our team. At the same time, they took our feedback into consideration. If we didn’t like an idea, they came up with another one.

It was great to work with Studio Simpatico. Their team was flexible, patient, and knew how to design a website to yield the best results.

How did Studio Simpatico perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team effectively used Basecamp and delivered the project on time. At the last minute, we decided to make a couple of changes, which slowed the launch. Otherwise, their team was able to meet deadlines. They made sure to deliver materials on time throughout the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their creativity was their most impressive quality. They came up with great designs, which didn’t just include an attractive front. Their team also had the technical skills to implement a solid backend. That makes all the difference in terms of the website’s usability and ability to drive leads.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were fantastic from start to finish. We couldn’t have come up with a better end result. We’re really pleased with how the project turned out.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should provide their deliverables on time to ensure that Studio Simpatico can start effectively and efficiently. We proactively sent them the website's content.

Before the project started, we had all the website copy and a rough layout of the pages we wanted. That made the process smoother because Studio Simpatico had a rough idea of what we wanted. They were able to spend their time on the site’s design and usability instead.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of CALIBER Fitness. We offer a remote, app-based strength training program to help people build muscle with the assistance of a professional personal trainer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Studio Simpatico?

We hired Studio Simpatico for a refresh on our marketing website that we had built. We wanted to upgrade the website to reflect our new brand positioning.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided the team with a brief about our positioning and objectives for the engagement. They then worked with us based on our brief to design the product – a robust marketing website with about 15 different pages. Studio Simpatico moved with us from ideation to design to development, going through wireframe, iteration, and engineering stages. 

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with three teammates, and there was a fourth teammate who did the engineering work. 

How did you come to work with Studio Simpatico?

A mutual acquaintance referred Studio Simpatico to us. We talked to several different firms, but we thought they had the best understanding of what we wanted to get done. Additionally, we had a good rapport with them from the get-go, and their pricing was reasonable.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $20,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

This particular project ran from November 2019–February 2020. Since then, we’ve engaged with them on smaller incremental projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Qualitatively, Studio Simpatico did an excellent job of interpreting our brand positioning and bringing it to life in a visual identity that was very much in-line with the three founders’ perspective on the brand.

Dealing with founders isn’t the easiest thing to do, but they listened well, really understood the brief, and worked with us to create a design that we’re really happy with. We’re using the product to inform other parts of the business beyond just our web presence.

I’ve worked with many agencies over the years, and this is one of the best engagements I’ve personally had. Beyond the visual aesthetic and understanding of what we wanted to accomplish, the quality of their work was excellent. They exceeded our expectations.

How did Studio Simpatico perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was excellent. The project was organized, they met the timelines, and there were no surprises.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our favorite part about working with Studio Simpatico was our collaboration sessions. We sat down at the table and brainstormed what we wanted to get done. They did a good job of helping us build on our ideas. Working with them on the brief and nailing it was a lot of fun.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I have no suggestions. It was a great engagement, and I have nothing but positive comments about them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Studio Simpatico is a smaller shop, so be ready to roll up your sleeves and collaborate with them. You’re not going to deal with a bunch of different teams; you’re going to be dealing with the principles at the agency, which is something I really enjoyed.